Military history of Portugal

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Timeline of Portuguese history

Portugal has been become involved in numerous wars throughout its history.

Contents 1 The Napoleonic Wars 2 The Second and Third invasions 3 The Liberal Wars 4 Colonizing Africa 5 World War I in Europe 6 World War II 7 Portuguese Colonial War 8 The Post-74 Era 9 See also

[edit] The Napoleonic Wars

During the Napoleonic Wars, Portugal was, for a time Britain's only ally on the continent. In 1807, after their refusal to participate in the Continental System, French troops under General Junot invaded Portugal, taking Lisbon. However, a popular revolt against Junot's government broke out in the summer of 1808 and Portuguese irregulars took up arms against the French. This enabled a British army under Arthur Wellesley to be landed in Portugal where, aided by Portuguese troops, he defeated Junot at the Battle of Vimeiro; this first French invasion was ended by the Convention of Sintra negotiated by his superiors, which shamefully allowed Junot's men to withdraw unmolested with their plunder. Meanwhile the general revolt against the French in Spain led to the landing of Sir John Moore in the north of that country, forcing Napoleon himself to lead an army into the Peninsula. Though Moore was killed the British managed to extricate themselves from the Peninsula in the Battle of La Coruña. Portugal itself, however, remained independent of the French, and Napoleon left things in the Iberian Peninsula in the hands of Marshal Soult.

[edit] The Second and Third invasions

Soult proceeded to invade Portugal in the north. However, the Portuguese held on, giving the British the impetus to send Wellesley back with additional regiments of troops to help recover the Iberian peninsula. Wellesley, aided by the remaining Portuguese regiments hastily scraped together and by Spanish guerrillas, liberated Portugal. A third invasion took place, led by Marshal Andre Masséna. The Anglo-Portuguese forces managed to halt the French advance at the fortifications of Torres Vedras and successfully defeat Masséna's troops, and slowly recovered the Iberian peninsula. Wellesley was made Duke of Wellington in recognition of his services. The Portuguese army was put under the command of Marshal Beresford and was most heavily engaged under his leadership in the bloody Battle of Albuera. Portuguese forces also formed part of Wellington's advance into southern France, 1813-14.

[edit] The Liberal Wars

After the Napoleonic War, the British ruled Portugal in the name of the absent king in Brazil, with Beresford as de facto Regent, until the revolution of 1820 when they were driven out and the king returned as a constitutional monarch. Over the next 25 years the fledgling Portuguese democracy experienced several military upheavals, especially the Liberal Wars fought between the brothers Dom Pedro, ex-Emperor of Brazil and the absolutist usurper Dom Miguel. To assert the cause of the rightful Queen, his daughter Maria da Gloria, Pedro sailed from Terceira in the Azores with an expeditionary force consisting of 60 vessels, 7500 men including Alexandre Herculano, Almeida Garrett, Joaquim António de Aguiar and a volunteer British contingent under the command of Colonels George Lloyd Hodges and Charles Shaw and effected a landing at Mindelo on the shores north of Oporto. Oporto was then taken by the liberal forces, who were besieged by the Miguelites for nearly a year until in July 1833 the Duke of Terceira was able to land in the Algarve and defeat Miguel's forces at the battle of Almada. The Miguelites were driven out of Lisbon but returned and attacked the city in force, unsuccessfully. Miguel was finally defeated at the Battle of Aceiceira, 16 May 1834, and capitulated a few days later at Evora. He was exiled, though his supporters continued to plot for his return and cause trouble up to the 1850s.

[edit] Colonizing Africa

In the 19th Century, Portugal became involved in the scramble for Africa, enlarging its territories in Angola, Mozambique, Portuguese Cabinda, and Guinea-Bissau. However, during World War One, a glorified raid by Paul von Lettow Vorbeck's remaining troops evaded British troops and managed to penetrate relatively far into Mozambique, seizing arms, capturing troops, and sparking unrest among the native populations.

[edit] World War I in Europe

Portugal sent an Expeditionary Corps of two reinforced divisions (40,000 men) to France, which fought alongside the British XI Corps. German offensives in the British sector hit the Portuguese hard, with one division destroyed in the Battle of La Lys, April 9, 1918, as it became known in Portugal, or Operation Georgette or the Battle of Estaires to the British. In the Treaty of Versailles, the Portuguese acquired the territory of Kionga from what was once German East Africa.

[edit] World War II

Although Portugal proclaimed neutrality in the conflict, the Japanese Imperial Army invaded the Portuguese Timor colony in distant Oceania, killing thousands of natives and dozens of Portuguese. In response, the Portuguese civilians joined The Netherlands and Australia against the Japanese. See Battle of Timor.

[edit] Portuguese Colonial War

Portugal remained steadfastedly neutral in World War II, but became involved in counterinsurgency campaigns against scattered guerilla movements in Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau. Except in Portuguese Guinea, where the revolutionary PAIGC quickly conquered most of the country, Portugal was able to easily contain anti-government forces through the imaginative use of light infantry, home defense militia, and air-mobile special operations forces, despite arms embargoes from other European countries. During the counterinsurgency campaigns in Angola and Mozambique, Portugal was significantly aided by intelligence provided by native residents who did not support revolutionary forces. However, a left-wing military coup by Portuguese military officers in 1974 toppled the Caetano government and forced a radical change in government attitudes. Faced with international condemnation of its colonial policies and the increasing cost of administering its colonies, Portugal quickly moved to grant the remainder of its African colonies independence.

[edit] The Post-74 Era

Portugal was a founding member of NATO, and, although it had scarce forces, it played a key role in the European approaches. After 1991 Portugal committed several Infantry and Airlanding battalions to international operations. The Portuguese Army keeps soldiers in Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia and East Timor (around 6,000 men overall) and it has 128 Guardsmen military police in Iraq. Portugal also sent its soldiers to Afghanistan, which controlled the Kabul airport during 2005. As international observers, Portuguese were also in Croatia, Georgia and Western Sahara.

[edit] See also

• Dutch-Portuguese War
• Battle of Guararapes
• The Peninsular War
• Portugal in the Great War
• Angolan War of Independence
• Mozambican War of Independence
• Guinea-Bissau War of Independence
• The 2003 Invasion of Iraq